


Thanksgiving

by greerian



Category: The Book of Mormon - Parker/Stone/Lopez
Genre: Gen, Phone Calls & Telephones, Post-Canon, Pre-Slash, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 14:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5293991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greerian/pseuds/greerian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The holidays are the worst time to be lonely.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thanksgiving

**Author's Note:**

> This is a simple stretch of dialogue between Connor and Kevin, set when Kevin calls soon after returning from his mission.
> 
> It's short, kind of shitty, and born of the particular type of loneliness one feels when alone in a room full of people.

“Um, hello?”

“Elder McKinley? Oh, um, Connor, I mean. Sorry, it’s me, Kevin Price.”

“Oh my gosh, Kevin! Hi! It’s great to hear from you; how’re you doing? How are things there in Provo?”

“I’m, um… good. I’m good. I just got back, y’know.”

“Oh my, has it been three months already? I feel like I just got home myself!”

“Yep, yeah, it’s been three months, and Arnold and I got home last week. Just in time for Thanksgiving, right?”

“Yes, right, just in time! How wonderful, to get to see all your family again so soon after coming back! Most of mine were on vacation when I got home, you know.”

“Ha, yeah… I think I might have preferred that.”

“You would? Why? ...is something wrong?”

“...it’s not, uh, wrong. Just… it’s hard to settle in.”

“...I know.”

“El- Connor, does it get any easier? I mean, I… does it?”

“Well, Kevin, I can’t speak for everyone, and my experience is bound to be different than yours, of course, due to differences in, um, family dynamics and cultural differences. Um. I just said differences three times, didn’t I? Oh, well, anyway, I’m afraid it hasn’t exactly gotten easier for me. But I have very high hopes for you, Elder Price! You’re obviously very adaptable, and quite a trooper, given everything that happened in… well. You know. But, Elder-”

“Connor, you know we’re not in Uganda anymore. You don’t have to… to pretend like everything’s going to be okay.”

“Now, Kevin, you can’t talk like that. Tomorrow is a latter day, remember?”

“Tomorrow, not today. And that was only in Uganda.”

“....are you okay, Kevin? You sound very…”

“If you’re going to say I sound ‘down’, then you’re not wrong.”

“Then what’s the matter? And, not that I’m complaining, not at all, but why are you calling me today? Shouldn’t you spend Thanksgiving day with your family?”

“You picked up on the first ring.”

“...I asked you first.”

“...fine. I just… I’m having a rough time settling in. And, I don’t know… I wanted to talk to someone who knows what it’s like.”

“Why didn’t you call Arnold?”

“Yeah, um, he’s grounded? Probably for forever, actually. I sneak over when I can, but he doesn’t have a phone or anything.”

“Oh, how awful! His parents are still angry about that?”

“Try furious. But… yeah. How come you were so ready to pick up?”

“Well. Um. I may have… I haven’t done anything yet, certainly no definitive actions, but… I’m a bit more open with my parents than when I left, I guess, and… they’re afraid my treatment didn’t work. I’ve had to go back to my therapist, and that’s not fun, but… they’re a bit disappointed in me. And, to be frank, it’s hard to be around my sisters with their families. They’re so happy with their husbands, and Chastity just had her second little girl, and the babies are just precious, but… I guess I’m a little jealous.”

“...you want a family?”

“Of course I do. I just… I need to make sure my, um, other desires align with that, if you know what I mean.”

“Connor, can I be completely honest with you?”

“Of course, Kevin, you can say whatever you need to.”

“...I hate being back in the U.S. Every day I wake up and just hate how comfortable my bed is. I hate it, Connor. It’s too cold, and everyone’s too nice, and too _white,_ and too rich and they’ve all got their heads buried in the sand, acting like they’ve got actual reasons to fight when there are people starving outside. I swear, I never would have thought Provo had that many homeless people, but now I see them everywhere, and I want to help but my dad just drives past, like they don’t matter! And if I have to sit through another frickin’ argument about which restaurant we’re going to eat at, I think I’m going to scream. I hate it here, Connor. I hate it, and I miss Sister Kalimba and Kimbay and Asmeret, and Gotswana, and Nabulungi and Mafala, and nobody here even seems to compare. Just… the people here are so shallow! They’ve never had to face anything hard in their lives! And I just have to sit here and smile at them like I care about any of it. I can’t keep doing this, Connor; I can’t keep pretending that everything is okay!”

“I know, Kevin.”

“Do you? Because literally everyone I’ve talked to, even people who went on other missions, they all think I’m crazy.”

“I was there with you, remember? I know.”

“...how do you do it?”

“I… I don’t, really. I don’t really talk to anyone. I just try and get through the day, really.”

“Is that all we get, Connor?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did, but… I… I don’t know.”

“We did some great stuff in Uganda, and now we’re just-”

“I know.”

“So, what do we do?”

“Kevin, I don’t know. I- please don’t laugh, but it helps to hear from you.”

“Why do you think I called?”

“I- oh.”

“Yeah.”

“...hey, Kevin?”

“Yeah?”

“Why did, um, me saying I want a family trigger that little rant of yours?”

“Well, you don’t think you’re going to get one if you can’t turn off your gay thoughts, right?”

“...right.”

“That’s, forgive me, that’s a load of crap. Gay men are just as capable of raising children as anyone else, and you’d make a great dad. There’s no reason that you shouldn’t be able to do it except what the church says, and some stupid laws made by people who don’t know any better. It wasn’t because of the church that we did anything great in Uganda. It was because of Arnold, and because of our brothers and sisters in the church. The mission president didn’t help us one iota, and our families all turned their backs on us. The church, and all the good stuff it says it does, none of that means anything, and I… Connor, I…”

“I’m sorry, Kevin. I’m so sorry.”

“...it’s not your fault.”

“I know. But… I feel like there’s nothing else to say, you know?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

“...well. We’re certainly a pair, aren’t we? Sitting in our rooms, talking on the phone while our families celebrate.”

“Yeah. I don’t know about you, though, but I like this better.”

“...you do?”

“Of course. Like I said, nobody else around here understands, and you’re really great to talk to, Connor. There’s a reason I called you.”

“Well. I’m flattered, Kevin; thank you.”

“Uh, you’re welcome.”

“You know, Kevin, you’re being… I- oh, um, goodness, I’m not sure how to say this. But Kevin, I… thank you for everything you’ve said today. I can’t explain to you how much it means that you… that you would want to call me.”

“Well _yeah_ , Connor, of course. You know, if I had to pick a favorite elder, it’d probably be you.”

“H-hey now, Kevin, if anyone gets to pick favorites, I’d think it’d be the district leader, don’t you? But… well, I guess it doesn’t matter now if I admit that I liked you a bit more than I should have.”

“Oh, did you?”

“Oh, gosh, Kevin, don’t tease me, please. I’m too emotional to keep from spilling all my secrets right now.”

“What if I want to hear all your secrets?”

“Kevin!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t bug you. And I should probably, uh, go now. But Connor? Can we… can we talk like this more often?”

“Can we what now?”

“...forget I said anything; it’s stupid.”

“What? No, no no no, I thought you just… you want to talk to me?”

“Uh, yeah. If that’s okay.”

“Of course! Of course that’s okay. I- why wouldn’t it be okay? I love talking to you.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, thanks again, Connor.”

“Anytime, Kevin. You really made my Thanksgiving better.”

“Thanks for saying that. You made mine better, too.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Kevin.”

“Happy Thanksgiving, Connor. I’ll call you soon.”


End file.
